Esther 7

Esther 7 is the climax of the latter part of the book, the point at which the course of the story is reversed. In the preceding chapter, Esther 6, Haman was compelled to carry out the honoring of Mordecai, and at the chapter's close the king's chamberlains brought Haman to Esther's banquet (Esther 6:14). This chapter continues at that banquet.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 The king and Haman come to Esther's banquet on the second day. The king again asks what her petition is and promises to grant it, even to the half of the kingdom.
• Verses 3–4 Esther pleads for her own life and for the lives of her people. She declares that she and her people have been sold to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish.
• Verses 5–6 When the king asks who has dared to devise such a thing, Esther names "this wicked Haman." Haman is afraid.
• Verses 7–8 The king rises in his wrath and goes out into the palace garden. Haman falls upon Esther's couch to beg for his life, and the king, on returning, takes this as an attempt to assault the queen. Those present cover Haman's face.
• Verses 9–10 The chamberlain Harbonah tells the king of the gallows, fifty cubits high, that Haman had set up at his house to hang Mordecai. At the king's command Haman is hanged on it, and the king's wrath is pacified.

Key Verses

• Esther 7:3 "Let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request" – the moment at which Esther first discloses her identity and the peril of her people before the king.
• Esther 7:6 "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman" – the accusation that marks the turning point of the story.
• Esther 7:10 "So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai" – the verse in which the theme of reversal that runs through the entire book appears most clearly.

People and Places

• Esther: the Persian queen of Jewish descent.
• Ahasuerus: the king of Persia.
• Haman: the king's official who sought to destroy the Jews.
• Mordecai: Esther's cousin and adoptive father, who is only mentioned by name in this chapter.
• Harbonah: a chamberlain attending the king, who informs him of the gallows Haman had built.
• The palace garden: the place to which the king briefly withdrew in his anger.

Points for Reflection

• The name of God does not appear in the Hebrew text of Esther. For this reason, many interpreters read the dramatic reversal in this chapter as the hidden working of God's providence. The Greek Septuagint contains additional sections, including prayers; the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church accept these as canonical, while Protestants regard them as apocryphal.
• The theme of the wicked falling into the pit they have dug echoes Psalm 7:15 and Proverbs 26:27.
• The expression "hang on a tree" (rendered "gallows" in the KJV) is translated differently in various versions, and interpreters therefore differ over whether the punishment was hanging by the neck or impalement on a stake. Fifty cubits is roughly 22 meters (about 75 feet).
• The king's promise, "even to the half of the kingdom," closely resembles the words Herod spoke to the daughter of Herodias in Mark 6:23.
• The deliverance of the Jews later gives rise to the festival of Purim (Esther 9).

In the Korean Church

The story of Esther is among the biblical narratives most frequently taught in Sunday school. As the climactic scene of that story, this chapter is commonly used as a sermon text when preachers address the theme of reversal in the book of Esther.